50 Responses

Either you have a lot of cities appearing and disappearing suddenly, or a lot of cultivated fields look much the same as city. This is a case where false color imagery would really have been informative. Compared to some cities like Istanbul this is mild. When I was stationed in Turkey in 1971-72, we’d travel through small towns with fields in between. Now it’s solid city.

This really isn’t a political issue. I read someone said this was liberal agenda…and I agree that people who favor an urban lifestyle TEND to be liberal, I don’t think politics should be discussed.

Like I said, I tend to discourage urban sprawl, but I’m not shunning it either. I think both forms of development have attractive qualities to them, depending on your lifestyle and I think each form of growth can occur at the same time. I don’t think one should suffer from the effects of the other (neglecting inner city schools and parks while the facilities in the outer loops pillage away all of the resources).

At least the western sprawl is HOUSING/HOME growth and hopefully NOT a lot of apartments, trailers or Sec. 8 Housing! Who cares what the goobers on the East Coast think of Texas anyway??? I certainly don’t!

Like most things, it’s good and bad. Some people like being in dense areas, others like more elbow room.
Most people would like a bigger lot. They simply can’t afford a bigger lot. But I have yet to hear anyone who is not elderly or disabled say they wish they had less property.
If you want dense urban living, we have many US cities that have an abundance of that.
The vast majority choose otherwise.

I agree. I don’t think either is better than the other. It’s completely subjective. Living in the dense, urban area has a lot of perks. It does lend itself to healthier living as people can bike or walk to their destinations a lot easier and not have to sit in freeway traffic all the time. Downtown Philadelphia is incredible. Everything you need to do is all within a 10 minute travel time or less and you hardly have to drive a car and use up a ton of gas.

That’s it, David. Shoot the messenger. The blogger is simply telling you what a national magazine has written about urban sprawl in Houston and Dallas. Read a little more thoroughly next time before opening your yap.

This is typical liberal, smart growth agenda pushers trying to show how so called “sprawl” is the devil… Nevermind people choose to live in the suburbs with their single family detached houses, big yards, and better schools. Just as people choose to live in dense urban environments for certain amenities, the same goes for living in the sprawling suburbs. Get over it already…

Nancy, a large percentage of them have one or more acres, like I do. More than half of my subdivision in the Kingwood area are an acre. The smaller lots, a quarter to a half acre, are on the golf course or the Lakes. It’s like that in Cypress and many other areas in north Houston. There are some that have small lots, and people prefer it because they don’t want a huge yard to take care of, while some do. I have a second home in the back and a swimming pool and a detached garage and a large greenhouse. You need to get out more.

A city’s expansion, an extension of human expansion is a good thing. It’s a sign of prosperity. A sign that we continue to move forward.

They can see all the slime and mold they want to see. All I see is the beauty of expansion.

Ultimately our expansion will eventually run out of space here on Earth, which will push even more resources into embracing our destiny as we settle on other worlds and continue to advance our technology and the human experience.

if more people knew how cheap it was to live here (well, exc, for insurance premiums), and what a great place to raise a family it is, everyone in the u.s. would move here. Stories like this might keep them away-Thanks.

I’m living in an urban area town house and I’m in the process of selling it and buying a house in the ‘burbs. Sick of the crime from the near by apartments and the ghetto thug culture and the area has just gone down hill since the economy crashed in ’08. There’s no way I’ll send my toddler to the local schools where we currently live, so now is a good time to move (a couple years before he starts kindergarten). The only reason I live here is because I was pressured by my spouse to live closer to work. Won’t make that mistake again!

Well tell the Atlantic to make all of the people that have moved to Houston from the ATLANTIC coast area or up north to move back and see who sprawls then. I don’t really want them to move back, they are good friends and neighbors and we will find a way to deal with being a slime mold disease.

The only problem I can see is that they are obviously jealous they don’t live somewhere that has the space to allow people to choose where they live — in a neighborhood with schools, parks, play space, etc. or inside the loop in a more dense lifestyle. Both are good, and we are blessed with a choice!